Field of the Embodiments of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to stage setup, and, more specifically, to techniques for arranging stage elements on a stage.
Description of the Related Art
Live events are a wildly popular form of entertainment. Concerts, plays, stand-up comedy, and other such events draw throngs of people each year. Such events oftentimes take place on a stage that requires a plethora of different types of audio equipment, such as microphones, speakers, monitors, and other stage elements. Prior to a given event, a stage crew arranges the stage elements on the stage to achieve a particular sound quality. The stage crew may then test those elements and rearrange the stage elements, as needed, in an effort to achieve more optimal sound quality. During the event, the stage crew may rearrange the stage elements to effect different audio capabilities. For example, in a concert, the stage crew may rearrange the stage elements to prepare for a particular song. Alternatively, rearrangement may be needed when stage elements are accidentally moved.
One problem with conventional techniques for arranging stage elements is that such elements must be moved manually. Many stage elements are bulky and unwieldy, such as public address (PA) speakers and the like, and therefore difficult or dangerous for laborers to move around on the stage. These issues complicate initial setup because many laborers are required to position the various stage elements required for a given event. When the stage elements need to be rearranged during the event, the aforementioned issues are magnified since the audience is required to wait while such rearranging takes place. Furthermore, in many cases, the rearranging needs to happen during the event (without interrupting the flow of the event), and therefore has to be done in a way that the audience does not get distracted from the event.
Another problem with conventional stage setup techniques is that optimal sound quality may be difficult or impossible to achieve without precise positioning and orienting of stage elements. With manual setup approaches, such precise arrangements are usually unrealistic. Accordingly, the sound quality associated with a given stage setup is limited by the precision with which the corresponding stage elements can be arranged.
As the foregoing illustrates, arranging stage elements is a complicated and error-prone task that requires the cooperative effort of teams of manual laborers. Conventional manual approaches may be extremely time consuming and require many iterations before an arrangement having acceptable sound quality can be accomplished.